Learning japanese in japan (Advice Center) Language Learning Forum

Learning japanese in japan
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18 messages over 3 pages: 1 2 3

Lucky Charms
Diglot
Senior Member
Japan
lapacifica.net
Joined 6760 days ago
752 posts - 1711 votes

Speaks: English*, Japanese
Studies: German, Spanish

Message 17 of 18

05 May 2012 at 9:44pm | IP Logged

ericspinelli's mention of the US military reminded me of a friend I have who is not in
the military, but often comes to Japan (and other countries, like Germany and Italy) for
a few months at a time to work with children on US military bases through this program:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_Adventure

It's technically a volunteer program, but rent is paid for, and you receive a stipend to
cover food expenses. The target language of the country is not required.

The website makes it look like it's only for students, but my friend has recommended the
program to me knowing I'm a college graduate, so I'll have to ask him about that.
1 person has voted this message useful

aquablue
Senior Member
United States
Joined 6193 days ago
150 posts - 172 votes

Speaks: English*
Studies: French, Mandarin

Message 18 of 18

07 May 2012 at 3:00am | IP Logged

ericspinelli wrote:

aquablue wrote:

Slightly off topic, but I was wondering how
easy it is to get a job
in Japan without knowing the language. Would you mind giving me a general overview?

The people I know who work in Japan who either don't speak Japanese or speak very
little:

1) Teach English
2) Are in the US military
3) Work in finance
4) Came as an intra-company transfer (manager, VP level)

I hear that it's possible to get jobs in IT without much Japanese ability though, like
finance, the jobs are rarely entry-level. I'm not sure what the Japanese skills of the
average factory worker in Japan is but my guess is that one needs functional Japanese
even for that. I'm sure there are some other, niche jobs out there as well.

It may also be worth noting that, though many companies use English as their official
working language, Japanese is often still the language of every day office
communication, as well as water cooler banter and after work gatherings. It's hard to
get away without at least conversational Japanese unless you are the one giving orders
or have some specialized expertise.

Ok, Thanks. Very useful info.
1 person has voted this message useful

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